Angel of the Dead
by reignscotlands
Summary: Nico wakes up and immediately something is wrong. It's the anniversary of his sister's death but how will he take it? Will the son of Hades explode after being alone for far too long?


| _Still hiding,_ Cupid said, smashing another skeleton to pieces. _You do not have the strength. |_

Nico was still and silent as he watched people go to and from their horse riding lessons. He observed them carefully, taking note of how care-free the atmosphere had felt. How is it that two feet away from him everything is cheerful and bliss, and where he is standing right now makes him choke and sputter? Nico took a step forward to see if he could somehow magically absorb whatever happy drug everyone else was on.

Nope. Still can't breathe. Nico sighed slowly, making sure this time to time his breathing. One wrong move and he would have a fit, breaking down and hyperventilating. He didn't want a repeat of this morning.

He had woken up in bed knowing what day it was. He tried to ignore it but it had been sitting in the back of his mind for weeks. He couldn't move. He felt weak and small. His nose started to burn and he knew he was about to cry. Nico grabbed his hair, tugging on it, and yelled. He yelled until his heart hurt and his throat burned and he'd forgotten how to breathe. He yelled until nothing but his voice and his sorrow had filled the empty void. He wanted to yell until he had forgotten, until his voice exploded. His head began to spin and Nico fell out of bed, gagging and trying to catch his breath. His breathing came more sharply now and the room around him seemed to be closing in. He was moving too quickly than his body expected and he crashed into his dresser. He slowly sunk onto the cold ground, sputtering and coughing, wondering what she had felt like in her last moments. The thought made him sick and Nico felt the heavy vile racing up his chest. He tried grabbing onto something, _anything_, but his eyes were blurry and he slipped again. He felt the warm remains come up his throat and he threw up. It calmed down his breathing but Nico's heart was pounding. It was still and silent afterwards as if nothing had happened. Nico reached for his bed, pulling himself up with one trembling hand. That was when he heard laughter and the clanks of metal being hit together outside his cabin. He didn't remember hearing the noises earlier but as his brain calmed down and his chest rose a little less, he slowly started to remember that the world went on despite what he was feeling and the world went on despite that she was dead.

The cards in Nico's back pocket weighed heavily on him. It seemed to almost suck all the life out of him and the child of Hades was trying very hard to stay alive.

_3 more hours, _he thought. He needed to burn these cards. He needed to forget. He pulled one out, slowly turning it over in his hand. He refused to look at it and placed it back into this pocket letting the texture of the card linger on his fingertips. Today was going to be a long day.

_I need distractions, _he thought. He checked his watch. It was his turn to take the horse riding lessons. Nico frowned. This wouldn't be the first time when he was going to ditch class. But, let's be real, how could he do anything today? Nico was impressed that he even brushed his teeth this morning.

Everyone seemed to have disappeared. He walked around camp slowly waiting for the time to pass by. He wondered where Annabeth and Percy were and if they remembered or not. Certainly he could not have been the only one feeling this way. Did Percy even care? What about Annabeth? Bianca was never mentioned. Was this on purpose? Maybe everyone thought the son of Hades hadn't gotten over his sister's death.

_Have I? _he thought.

Nico walked towards the edge of camp and slumped down on the nearest tree. The trees roots spread across the ground spilling over each other like water. He liked to imagine the tree roots as different people, all intertwining to make something great, something big. He thought his life would be like that. He thought that him and Bianca would travel together finding people and things to make something great, something tall, something wholesome. But what did he get? A dead sister and a camp full of people who disliked him.

Nico traced the tree's past with his eyes and he breathed in slowly. Being alone was hard for him. His entire life he always had his sister around him. He always had someone to care after him, to protect him. People look at him and just assume things. But how is one supposed to act when they only thing they had left was ripped away from them? How is one supposed to act when the world has been nothing but cruel? Yeah, Percy has a neglecting father, but who doesn't? At least he has friends. Everyone as camp seemed to cry and complain about the same things. They would lock themselves out and when they returned they had a welcome committee of friends there to comfort them. But Nico? He had darkness. Nico has to survive on his own and it hurts. The whispers and stares hurt. It isn't easy letting people in anymore.

"Bianca!" he yelled, "Why did you leave me? Huh? I could have gone with you! We could have defeated him together! You could have been alive!"

Nico cursed and stood up. This wasn't a very good place to be distracted. But it didn't matter. Wherever the Ghost King went, he would still be alone.

It was finally time for dinner. Nico walked slowly and took in the scenery. Right in the middle of the benches was a bonfire the size of Hades. The dancing colors seemed to jump right into the sky and fade away into the stars, making them shine brighter. Around the fire were stones of every color and shape. Night-time purple, ruby red, orchid blue. The gleaming colors reflected into the fire making shapes and stories of the gods and former demigods. The sight of the fire was beautiful. Nico felt the cards in his back pocket, running his fingers over them anxiously waiting until it was his turn to put in his offerings to the fire. He looked ahead. About 12 more people until he would do what he had been waiting to do for weeks. He grabbed a plate and got all of Bianca's favorite foods. He never noticed how weird her taste in foods was. On his plate was hot wings, spaghetti, warm bread, apple slices, salted crackers, macaroni and cheese, and a diet Coca-Cola to wash it all down. He smiled. Never in his life has he looked at his sister with such detail. There was so many quirks and amazing things about her that he had never noticed, until now.

It was his turn. He pulled the card out his pocket and ran his fingers over it one last time. He felt the bumpiness of the writing, the wax from the colors, and the soft touch from the paper. It was the last item of Bianca's the Nico could find, a picture when she was 11. She had given it to Nico as a gift once and he has held on to it greatly. 3 years later and Nico is about to give it in as an offering.

Nico threw the card into the fire, along with the plate of her favorite foods. The fire blazed bigger that it ever had before and a few campers stepped back. The fire churned in swirls and colors. It illuminated heat onto the son of death and he took it all in. And then it happened.

The fire blaze shot up and he saw her, Bianca. The bonfire had shifted itself to look like his fallen sister, and there she was. The wind howled and the trees blew vigorously. The smell of her hair replaced the smell of fresh pine. The flowers in the ground blossomed almost immediately as if they rose for the fallen daughter. Nico looked around and saw his sister all around him. He saw the colors of her lips in the ripe strawberries, he felt the smoothness of her skin on the dirt beneath his toes, he smelled her scent in the trees and flowers, and he felt her bravery and pride in the roaring fire in among him.

The son of Hades wasn't alone. Bianca was with him everywhere he went. He just had to find her in him.

He saw something move in the corner of his eye and he saw Percy giving thanks and putting food for the fire.

"To Bianca!", he said. Suddenly the rest of the camp started to do the same thing, saying small messages about resting in peace and being happy and calling her brave. Nico knew that half these kids didn't know Bianca or her story but he was still grateful for the respect they were giving her.

Nico turned and walked back to his cabin. His heart could finally rest easy.

When he made it back he slumped onto his bed and smiled. He knew his sister was gone, but not forgotten. As long as Nico lived his sister will never be forgotten.

| "Nico, I've seen a lot of brave things. But what you did? That was maybe the bravest." |

**Authors Note: Hey! This is my first Nico fanfic. c: Anyway, I do not own these characters and I hope you all enjoyed!**


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